Friday, September 2, 2011

Monkey See, Monkey Do

Being a dad is a tough job. Plenty of times one kid will act up and the rest will, too. Classic case of Monkey See, Monkey Do.

Not fun. But sometimes that pattern is wonderful.

Right now, I'm watching my kids reading and writing. I told one of them she could read a book and write a report on it if she wanted. She pulled out a book on soccer, a pencil and paper and plopped down on the living room carpet.

Source: Microsoft Office Images

It caused a chain reaction. It did. It did. The baby marched into the other room, grabbed her magnetic letters and started arranging them in alphabetical order. At this stage, the alphabet song is essential to her recall process.

The boy saw his sisters in action. Here's something to laugh about: He put down his Nerf gun and ran upstairs. After a few minutes he rushed down and sat at the dining room table. He had a First Reader book, paper and a pencil and a question for me: "Dad, what's a report?"

Except for the sound of the baby singing "A-B-C-D-E-F-G..." the house is now eerily quiet. They are all working on their reading and or writing skills.

As a lover of words, you gotta just love that image. It's a beautiful thing. This is my answer to my students when they gasp in shock after I tell them I don't have cable TV. We don't tune into local TV, either.

"What do your kids do all day?!" they ask.

Microsoft Office Images

They play. But often they also read and write... and have fun doing it. You hear that? Shhhh. Listen... Now you hear it? Yes. That's the sound of three young minds - neurons firing - as they explore reading and writing.